Tanglewood — 2024/08/17-18

 I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday I was distracted by the Red Sox game. I hope you thought about Tanglewood without my prompt. If you listened, you heard the Prokofiev Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, which should have been enjoyable. This evening at Tanglewood, they're giving "Jurassic Park in Concert." WCRB will rescue us from that with an "encore broadcast" from last summer. Here's their summary:

Saturday, August 17, 2024
8:00 PM

In an encore broadcast, Dutch pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen are the soloists in Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E minor, and Kazuki Yamada leads the BSO in the Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz.

Kazuki Yamada, conductor
Lucas and Arthur Jussen, pianos

Felix MENDELSSOHN Concerto in E for two pianos and orchestra
Hector BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

This concert was originally broadcast on August 6, 2023 and is no longer available on demand.

An "excellent choice," as some waiters seem to say regardless of what you ordered. I'd certainly rather hear this than Jurassic Park. Your opinion may differ.

The BSO's performance detail page no longer has the program notes for the concert, but the performer bios are still linked and could be interesting reading.

The Sunday concert looks quite good as well. Here's what WCRB says:

Sunday, August 18, 2024
7:00 PM

In a Boston Symphony concert from Tanglewood, Yo-Yo Ma is the soloist in Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto, and BSO Assistant Conductor Earl Lee leads the orchestra in Carlos Simon’s “Fate Now Conquers” and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Earl Lee, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Carlos SIMON Fate Now Conquers
Robert SCHUMANN Cello Concerto
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7

To hear a preview of the concert and Earl Lee's reflections on his two years as a BSO Assistant Conductor, use the player above, and read the transcript below:

TRANSCRIPT:

Brian McCreath I'm Brian McCreath at the Koussevitzky Music Shed with Earl Lee, here for his last concert as Assistant Conductor with the Boston Symphony. Earl, thank you for a little bit of your time today

As you see, there's an interview with the conductor which you can read or listen to. I read it, and it's pretty interesting. Hearing might be even better because you can hear what he sings at one point.

The orchestra's performance detail page gives the same basic information along with links to performer bios and program notes:

Tanglewood

Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox/Stockbridge, MA 

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Earl Lee, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Carlos SIMON Fate Now Conquers
SCHUMANN Cello Concerto
-Intermission-
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7

This afternoon’s concert is generously supported by Dr. Dorothy A. Weber, in memory of Stephen R. Weber.

This afternoon's performance by Yo-Yo Ma is generously supported by Nancy and Jay Nichols.

The program note for "Fate Now Conquers " is particularly informative. I'm looking forward to hearing it. Of course the rest of the concert is very popular repertory.

So there are two good concerts in store. Enjoy.